


Forgotten From The Head But Never The Heart

by Demigod2405



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Jonathan Byers, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Cute Kids, M/M, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 07:33:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20078485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demigod2405/pseuds/Demigod2405
Summary: When Jonathan Byers wakes up in the hospital, he cant quite place who these people are but it'll come back to him - right?





	Forgotten From The Head But Never The Heart

Lights above made him think he’d gone to heaven when he opened his eyes. Bright white, filling his whole senses. It was easier to close his eyes and focus on what he could hear and smell and feel instead. A scratchy bed blanket, an antiseptic smell that was overpowering, a beeping to his left and the soft whirling of machines above his head. The time Will broke his arm came to the forefront of his mind – Hospital. He was in the hospital.

WHY?

What reason did he have to be in the hospital? Was he hurt? He didn’t remember getting hurt. Maybe something happened to someone else? WILL!

Shooting up out of bed, he looked around himself ignoring the shrieking of the machines around him. Was Will hurt? Was Mom? People who looked like nurses came running in all speaking to him in frantic tones, something about pulling wires out? He didn’t care. Where were his brother and mother? Were they ok? Where they hurt? His heart stopped short when Will finally came running in at his yelling, sporting a black eye and busted lip. His baby was hurt! What kinda brother was he? Will climbed onto the bed – ignoring the Nurses telling him otherwise, stubborn boy – and forced him to lay down and relax. He could feel the nurses tugging at him here and there, something was clamped around his index finger and the beeping returned – he hadn’t even realised it had stopped.

Will told him that he was happy he was awake. Err how long had he been asleep? He asked as much to the people around him. A week was his response – well then, maybe he _was_ hurt. It took a while for the nurses to leave him alone. For some reason they asked him a load of questions like; where was he? What year is it? How old was he? Who’s the president? He tried to answer them as truthfully as possible but the nurses didn’t look pleased with his answers.

  * Hawkins Hospital
  * 1982
  * 15
  * President Carter

They also wouldn’t tell him the answers to his own question like why Will looked so much older than he should be. Speaking of Will, he hadn’t left his chest the whole time and he could feel his brothers tears start soaking the hospital gown. He frowned at that and brought his hands up to run through his babys’ hair – it had always calmed both of them down. They froze though when he noticed a scar on his left hand – running from between his thumb and index finger and down towards his palm. He didn’t remember that.

Mum rushing into the room took the thoughts of the scar out of his head. She held him close and stroked his hair and kissed his forehead. She smelt like fresh air and felt like safety. He couldn’t help but look over her shoulder though. Waiting. Waiting for him. Waiting for him to walk in and passive aggressively complain about how much money this was costing, the look in his eyes telling him there was trouble waiting at home. He didn’t want this moment shattered like that, wanted to enjoy the calm and warm of his mothers’ arms and the comforting weight of his baby on his chest. Actually that was something he wanted to address.

“Momma?”

“Yes honey?”

“Why is Will so big? Did something happen?” His mother looked at him like he had told her he had found a dead animal. Heartbroken and a little unsure how to tell him what was wrong.

“Honey what’s the last thing you remember?” He scowled at that,

“Will nicking my new camera and taking pictures of me before I fell off the bed,” his eyes widened and he looked her in her face, “is that why I’m in hospital? Did I hurt myself?”

“Yeah kid, that’s why” A big burley man came through the door way and stood at the end of his bed. He looked grumpy and a bit like father so he pulled Will closer to himself. The mans’ eyes did shift down towards Will but were soon focused on him again. “You hit your head Jonathon, and by the sound of it – you scrambled your brains!”

“Hop!” His mother wacked the man – ‘hop’ – on the arm and came to sit on his bedside.

“Honey, you were in an accident a week ago. You hit your head pretty bad and the way you answered your questions… you have a little brain damage from it” He frowned at that,

“What do you mean, answered my questions? I told the truth didn’t I?” The Man pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and now he was getting worried. “Mum?”

“Shh honey, its ok. Jonathon… baby. You have memory loss. It’s not 1982, its 1984. Your 17 years old and Will is 13.”

His world froze, every living thing came to a standstill around him. Slowly though the world started to twist and turn, making him right side up and upside down. Something burned in his throat and it wanted out – now. He pitched over sideways and let it out into a metal thing that was placed in front of him. Once it was over he fell back onto the bed, tears started flowing. He was missing 2 years of his life? His baby had grown without him! He heard voices away from him, lost in a sea. He was underwater, everything slow and muffled but calm and far-away.

A new person entering the room caught his attention and stopped the tears flowing. ‘Fluffy’ was his first thought. ‘Mine’ was the second. He didn’t know what part of him knew that but he wanted to listen. The boy was maybe 18 to 20 years old? His hair defied gravity and looked so soft. He reached his hand out and the boy walked forward slowly, like he was unsure about being here. Once the boy was with in grabbing distance, grab is what he did. Straight to the hair. It was messy and falling onto his face but he was right, it was so soft. The boy let out a soft chuckle and reached up, tugging one of his hands down, before placing a kiss on his knuckles.

“Hi Johnny, You ok?” He frowned and pulled his hands away from the boys hair,

“Nobody calls me Johnny, who are you?” The boy’s face fell quick and he moved away from him towards the other man. His hand came up to rub the back of his neck and he hunched over, making himself smaller.

“I’m your… I’m Steve, I babysit your brother and his friends.” Looking over at Will meant that he missed the glance sent between his mother and the man before both looked at the boy. Will looked kinda constipated but he nodded his head and smiled at ‘Steve’.

“I’m going to talk to the nurses about discharge dates, Jim you coming?” His mother whisked the man out the door and left him with his brother and his brothers’ babysitter. Weird. His brothers’ babysitter was cute though, he had to admit. Maybe if he were older or the boy younger – maybe.

“Steve?” His brother caught his attention, “Are the others coming to see Jonathon as well?” Steve nodded,

“If Johnny boy will have them”

“Don’t call me that” he regretted how sharp his voice was when Steve flinched back. Wow his 17 year old voice box was deep. He liked it. Made him sound grown up. Still Steve recovered pretty quickly, mumbling something about getting the others before slipping out the door. Finally it was just him and his baby. He slipped back down onto the rough and scratchy sheets, pulling Will into his chest and curling round him. He was just as small in comparison to him and he fit perfectly under his chin. It was about 10 minutes of bliss before a thunderous chorus announced the arrival of Wills’ friends. However when he sat up and looked – there were two girls among them. One with fiery red hair past her shoulders and one with – quite frankly – a curly mop on her head. That was new. Last he checked, the boys were terrible with girls. Now Mike and Lucas were holding hands with them!

“Jonathon! You ok?” The girl with the curly mop climbed onto his bed as well and was staring at him. He pulled back – as far as he could – and held his hand up. They fell silent.

“Ok first off, your heavy – get off” she complied and slid onto the floor to stand next to Will, “Second – who even are you?” he pointed towards the red head, “You as well” The didn’t say anything for a while before Mike opened his mouth,

“Are we allowed to tell him or are we letting him get back on his own?” The rest of them shrugged their shoulders looking at each other before the babysitter walked back in and heads turned to him.

“We can tell him the Important things but don’t overwhelm him” He was shocked how the kids all nodded before pulling chairs over to his bed and sitting on them without complaint. The babysitter had sat in a chair off to the side and Dustin had abandoned his chair to sit on the Boys lap. The ever loving hell? His confusion must have shown on his face because Will started talking.

“Last year – something happened. I got hurt” He was up and reaching for his brother with that. Will let him-self be pulled into the bed and hugged, “I’m doing better now though, you and Mum and Hop helped save me.” He released him with that but kept him on the bed. “While I was gone, The Party found El“– he pointed to the curly mop – “She helped them find me and helped save the day.” Will face turned to red head, “Max came to us a few months back from California, she became our friend very quickly and she helped us when the trouble came back.” His brothers face took a dark turn “What happened to me last year came back and that’s were Mama Steve comes to the rescue!” Will through his hands up and brought them down facing the babysitter who was wearing a face splitting grin. His eyes were warm and joyful as Dustin started exclaiming about how Steve had saved them, defended them and now acted as babysitter, chauffer and honorary mother to most of them. That made him suspicious, no-one was that nice without a motive behind it.

“What do you get from this?” Steve froze slightly so he continued, “No one does anything for free. What. Do. You. Get?” Steve swallowed and glanced at Dustin in his lap. He saw Steves hands tighten around Dustins’ mid-section and Dustin respond with soft rubs on Steves’ forearms. It calmed the boy down and the ‘Honorary mother’ looked back at him and slowly said,

“I grew up with nobody around me except for nannies and they were gone by the time I turned 6. My parents left for weeks at a time and often only stayed for a day in-between. I grew up in silence and it almost drove me to suicide a few times” The rest of the kids had started to migrate towards Steve, hanging onto his arms and leaning on his legs. “When these kids pulled me into their lives… I… it gave me a purpose. Something worthwhile for me to do. The knowledge that these kids are alive because of me, it kept _me_ alive. How can I die and leave them without their protector? Even if their loud sometimes, it fills my house from nook to cranny and makes it feel less of a museum and more of a home.” He was crying now, salty tears pooling on his lower lashes before falling to hang off his jaw and then splashing onto Dustins’ curls. “I get a family, people who love me”

He really couldn’t argue that, so he just nodded his head and tried to look remorseful. He did pull it off well. He dropped it though when mother walked back into the room and announce they were letting him go. He breathed a sigh of relief as he stripped himself of the gown and dressed in softer worn clothes. His clothes. Then he was off home. Finally

His home was a lot more banged up then he remembered. There was massive hole patched up in the living room and the fridge was looking worse for wear. It was his room that had changed the most though. His little twin was now a double bed facing the door and above the bed was a wall covered in photos. Of Will and the boys but also the girls, his mom with that ‘Hop’ man. Of some brunette girl with a gun on her hip. And the boy – Steve. There were a lot of Steve. Photos of them together and close. Some of them laughing together or with the kids. But one near the bed was of them kissing. Obviously taken by someone else. They were outside – by a fire or bonfire if the light was any indication – curled together on a blanket, Steve was tucked together into his body – tilting his head up to meet his, It was a soft press of lips – closed mouth as far as he could see but intimate. Something in his mind clicked and he saw himself tangled together with Steve in this double bed. Of date nights and sweet kisses and laughing way too much. Of tidal wave emotions overtaking him as he looked at his boyfriend spread out and asleep.

Boyfriend.

He had a boyfriend. And it was his old bully. Wow. He felt a presence behind him and when he turned around there Steve was. In all his fluffy haired glory. He couldn’t help himself as he rushed forward and slammed his lips onto Steves’. The thing that Steve had started and he carried on came flying back to him and he spoke,

“My Sun, My Sky – Im home” His lover smiled back,

“My Moon, My Stars – I’ve missed you”


End file.
